Last season at the trade deadline, General Manager Paul Holmgren made the controversial move to trade well-liked forward Scottie Upshall to Phoenix for pugilist Daniel Carcillo. Philly fans griped and the media groaned over the state of the Flyers and their salary cap, which forced their hand in dishing the restricted free-agent to be Upshall for seemingly lesser talent. But as the Coyotes continue to struggle to sign the speedy winger, it seems Holmgren knew something that most of the public didn’t at the time. He knew Scottie wanted to get paid.

Upshall, who made $1.25 million last season, is looking for a significant raise in the ballpark of $3-5 million, which is the going rate for 30-goal guys. Holmgren knew Scottie and his agent, however well liked, were going to play hard ball. So he made the tough decision at the 2008-09 deadline to get something in return, instead of just watching the 25-year old walk.

Upshall finished last season with 15 goals and 19 assists in 74 games, 13 of which came in 19 games with Phoenix.

“Right now, I’m just concentrating on hopefully trying to get something done here,” Upshall told Gintonio back in late June.

But when asked about the team’s constant relocation rumors, he stayed upbeat about staying in Phoenix.

3 responses to “Upshall struggling to sign in Phoenix”

Upshall was drafted SIXTH overall in 2002. SIXTH. And he has never put up more than 15 goals.

Whenever you point out that inconvenient truth to his legions of zombies in the Philadelphia area, they wave it off and talk about how popular he was, how he skated like the wind, and played with energy. All things that, conveniently, don’t show up on a score sheet.

Guess what folks, Scottie Upshall is a big, fat BUST by every measurable metric available. He’s half as productive as Joffrey Lupul (who was drafted exactly one slot behind Upshall in 2002), but wants money comparable to what Lupul received, despite the fact that Lupul is considered grossly overpaid for his production at $4.25 million.

As grotesque as Carcillo may be to the fan base, he’s actually GOOD at what he does (agitating and fighting), and was a player coveted by the Flyers.

Why the fan base gets all dewey-eyed over a player who has yet to play up to the expectation of a SIXTH overall draft choice is beyond me. Is it because he’s cute?

About

Ryan Bright (Philabright@gmail.com) is a sports writer, born and raised in the Philadelphia area. A graduate of West Chester University, he has been with the Daily Local News in Chester County since early 2007, working as the paper's college and high school ice hockey beat writer. In 2010, began as a contributer for CSNPhilly.com, covering the Flyers and the Philadelphia Union.

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